Wrightsville Beach students compete to see whose car goes farthest

Students prepare to race their car down the track Wed Jan 30, 2013, in Janice Williams 5th grade class at Wrightsville Beach Elementary School. The students worked in small cooperative groups for Sceince class to build the vehicles and tested them to see if the vehicles could travel at least 100 cm.

Published: Sunday, February 3, 2013 at 7:08 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, February 3, 2013 at 7:08 p.m.

All eyes are on the purple "Start Here" line marking the paper track covering the floor of Janice Williams' Wrightsville Beach Elementary School classroom. No one is talking – some may not even be breathing – as hands give gentle shoves to small-scale cars of all shapes and sizes.

The miniature NASCAR pit is part of the force and motion science lesson in this fifth-grade classroom. Williams' students – and their peers across the county – learn about what makes something move by building miniature cars and seeing how far they'll go. It takes a little bit of design, a little bit of construction and a lot of critical thinking.

The rules Williams gives her students are simple: Use K'Nex pieces – student Luke Roberts describes them as an "advanced version of Legos" – to create a car. Push it down a track. See if it will travel at least 100 centimeters.

And with that, they're off.

In one corner, Luke and classmates Trey Clucas and Lawrence Richard are creating an elaborate contraption. The vehicle has more than 50 parts layered onto it, including two just-for-looks miniature doors. Adding all the pieces, the trio hope, will make the car go far, but also straight. The trick, Trey said, is "to get it to the perfect weight."

Across the room, Mitchell Boehling, Jack Glockner, Tjaden Durham and Andrew Tronca have the same idea – far, but straight – with the opposite approach. Their car is simple and streamlined, with just a few connecting pieces holding together three wheels.

Those wheels are the subject of debate between Mitchell and Jack. Two have no tread on them, which Mitchell thinks will help with the car's gliding ability. Jack is not so sure.

"If this was full-scale, that would be a problem," he said, frowning at the model in his hand like a mini-engineer.

When it's time to race, cars from all nine teams of students – including the 50-part gizmo and the three-wheel wonder – pass the 100-centimeter mark. But the most successful design, going a whopping 480 centimeters, is also the most unique. With three tiers of wheels and a lightweight body, the winning car was built by Anjeli Smith and Caroline Warshaw.

The pair are grinning with giddiness over their work as they answer questions about their car-creating thought process. Asked if they have a future as car designers, Caroline doesn't rule it out.